Calling-party-pays call processing for cellular and paging

ABSTRACT

An enhanced Calling Party Pays (CPP) or Paging Party Pays (PPP) system that enables 1) billing of calls originating from traditionally non-billable sources, 2) routing of incoming calls to voicemail if the caller does not wish to incur the additional charges, 3) allowing the caller to complete the call and charge the cellular (or paging) subscriber for additional air-time usage when the caller enters a PIN or security code, also referred to as a billing override code, and 4) allowing the caller to block CPP/PPP charges from being billed to the calling party

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] A. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a method of processing telephonecalls where the called party is a cellular subscriber or a paging systemsubscriber. More particularly, the invention relates to methods of callprocessing to provide enhanced billing, routing, and messaging services.

[0003] B. Description of the Related Art

[0004] Cellular system subscribers typically are charged a fee for useof the cellular system, regardless of whether the cellular subscriberinitiates or receives the call. Similarly, paging system subscribers arecharged a fee for paging calls received. Subscribers may not havecontrol over who calls (or pages) them, other than to keep their phonenumber out of the public domain. However, maintaining an unlisted numberhas disadvantages, and may not be practical for a business setting.Consequently, systems that require the calling party to pay, known asCalling Party Pays (CPP) and Paging Party Pays (PPP) systems, have beenimplemented to charge a calling party for the entire call rather than tocharge the cellular/paging subscriber for calls incoming to thesubscriber. That is, with CPP/PPP services, the land-line user calling acellular or paging user will pay the land-line usage as well as the airtime charges associated with the call.

[0005] After an end-user dials the cellular/paging subscriber'stelephone number, the end-user is prompted with an announcementindicating they will be billed for the call. At such time, the end-userhas the option of continuing the call and being billed for the call, orhanging up if they do not want to incur the charges.

[0006] The prior art systems have limited features, and are unable tocharge the calling party under certain circumstances, such as when callsare initiated from payphones, hotels, etc. These are commonly referredto as “leakage calls” originating from “leakage sources.”

[0007] 1. The Digital Phone Network

[0008]FIG. 1 depicts a typical prior art Advanced Intelligent Network(AIN) used for call processing and routing. A calling party usingtelephone subscriber unit 10 conveys dialing information to its EndOffice 20 (EO), also known as a Service Switching Point (SSP) 20. TheSSP 20 routes the call to the called party's SSP 30 that routes the callto the called party's telephone subscriber unit 40. The calling party'sSSP 20 obtains the necessary information used to route the call to SSP30 via a Signaling System 7 network (SS7), which includes a SignalingTransfer Point 50 (STP) and a Service Control Point 60 (SCP). Typically,the SCP 60 has access to an External Data Base 70 (EDB) containingvarious network and subscriber data. As is well known in the art, theSS7 Network is hierarchical, with the STP 50 having a routing functionto direct SS7 communications to the appropriate SCP 60.

[0009] In the AIN network, call routing is performed using SS7. As iswell known in the art, SS7 is generally made up of i) transportprotocols known as Message Transfer Parts 1-3 (MTP) and the SignalingConnection Control Part (SCCP), and ii) user parts such as TransactionCapabilities Application Part (TCAP), Telephone User Part (TUP), andISDN User Part (ISUP), which use the lower level MTP and SCCPcapabilities. TCAP provides a way for an application at one node in thenetwork to access a database at another node or to invoke the executionof a procedure at another node. Further information about SS7 may befound in T. Russell, “Signaling System #7,”McGraw Hill (1995), theteachings of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0010] Routing within an AIN network is performed based on dialed digitsin the form of area code, exchange prefix, and line number,NPA-NXX-XXXX. The area code is referred to as a Numbered Plan Area (NPA)and the exchange prefix is referred to as NXX. The subscriber linenumber XXXX are digits seven through ten. Alternatively, the numberingformat is often given as NXX-NXX-XXXX, where N can be any number 2-9,and X can be any number 0-9. Throughout this specification NPA-NXX willbe used to refer to the area code and exchange prefix of a phone number.

[0011] In the AIN network the EO is typically a class 5 switch. Thetandem switch is of class 4, meaning that switching is performed betweentwo trunk lines and subscribers are typically not serviced directly. Inthe AIN network, cellular and paging service switches are typicallyconnected to a tandem switch. The NXX numbers assigned to the cellularproviders are associated, or “homed,” to the class 4 tandem switches.The class-5 SSPs are configured to route cellular and paging callsdirectly to the tandem.

[0012] 2. Calling Party Pays

[0013] In prior art CPP systems (FIG. 2), SSP 20 routes cellular (orpaging) calls from the calling subscriber unit 10 to the Tandem 80 basedon the dialed NPA-NXX information. Based on the called party number,tandem 80 launches a TCAP query to the SCP 60 to determine if theparticular cellular or paging provider offers CPP services. In addition,the tandem queries SCP 60 using the calling party's Automatic NumberingIdentifier (ANI) to determine the billable status of the calling numberbased on its Charge Party Station Type (CPST).

[0014] The CPST is also referred to as “ANI II.” Some standard ANI IICodes are given: ANI II Code 00 is used to designate standard billablecalls with no special attributes; ANI II Code 27 identifies a lineconnected to a pay station which uses network provided coin controlsignaling; ANI II Code 29 is used to identify lines serving aconfinement or detention facility that are intended for inmate/detaineeuse and require outward call screening (e.g., 0+collect only service);ANI II Code 70 identifies a line connected to a pay station (includingboth coin and coinless stations) which does not use network-providedcoin control signaling.

[0015] If the SCP 60 determines that the called subscriber does not havea CPP option, the SCP 60 instructs the tandem to route the call asnormal to the Mobile Telephone Switching Office 90 (MTSO) fortransmission to the subscriber unit 100. If, on the other hand, the SCP60 determines that the cellular subscriber 100 (called party) has a CPPoption, and the calling subscriber unit 100 is of billable status, theSCP 60 instructs the tandem 80 to route the call to the MTSO 90 and tocreate a billing record in an Automatic Message Accounting (AMA) database 110 to record the charge to the calling party for the air-timeassociated with the call. If the SCP 60 determines that the callingsubscriber 100 is not of billable status, then the SCP 60 neverthelessinstructs the tandem 80 to route the call to the MTSO 90. The tandem 80regards the call as leakage and may route the non-billable call to theMTSO 90 over a separate pre-designated trunk 120, wherein the use ofthat trunk indicates that the call has not been billed to the callingparty. The cellular provider may then treat the call as “leakage” andnot bill it, or the provider can charge the cellular subscriber for theair-time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0016] The process described herein allows a cellular or paging systemto provide enhanced Calling Party Pays (CPP) or Paging Party Pays (PPP).The enhancements enable the system to 1) bill calls originating fromtraditionally non-billable sources, 2) route incoming calls to voicemailif the caller does not wish to incur the additional charges, 3) allowthe caller to complete the call and charge the cellular (or paging)subscriber for additional air-time usage when the caller enters a PIN orsecurity code, also referred to herein as a billing override code, and4) allow the caller to block CPP/PPP charges from being billed to thecalling party.

[0017] An object of the method described herein is to allow the cellularor paging service provider to recover the costs of calls originatingfrom leakage sources by routing leakage calls to a billing service, suchas a credit card billing service. The method involves the steps ofreceiving information containing a calling number and a called number;determining the billing status of the calling subscriber device inresponse to the received calling number; determining the billingpreferences of the called subscriber device in response to the receivedcalled number; and, routing the call to a billing service provider ifthe billing status is determined to be billable and the billingpreferences are calling party pays, thereby allowing the billing serviceprovider to obtain billing information about the calling subscriberdevice. The method preferably involves examining a database fieldcontaining the Charge Party Station Type of the first subscriber device,and/or examining a database field containing billing preferences of thesecond subscriber device. The method steps are preferably performed at aservice control point of an advanced intelligent network, but may beperformed on a distributed basis within a network. Preferably, thecalled and calling number information is received via the TCAP componentof signaling system 7. The service control point recognizes callsreturned from the billing service provider by examining the AIN of theincoming call, which is a ten digit predetermined pseudo-code indicativeof a successfully billed call. This method is particularly advantageousin that it does not require the SCP to perform billing operations. TheSCP advantageously does not have to access directly an outside billingservice provider or maintain large databases containing billinginformation.

[0018] An object of the method described herein is to allow the cellularor paging service provider to route calls to a voice mail service if thecalling party does not wish to incur additional charges for thecompletion of the call. The method involves playing a message to thecalling party and checking for a one digit response indicating they haveselected the voice mail option. The call is then routed to the MTSOvoice mail system.

[0019] It is a further object of the method described herein to allowthe caller to complete the call where the called party is billed forair-time charges by entering a PIN, or a calling party pays billingoverride code. The method of processing the call preferably involves thesteps of receiving information containing a called number correspondingto the second subscriber device; determining the billing preferences ofthe second subscriber device in response to the received called number;receiving and verifying a calling party pays override code; and routingthe call to the second subscriber device without charging additionalfees to the calling party.

[0020] It is also an object of the method described herein to allow thecaller to block CPP/PPP services from their phone, thereby preventingCPP/PPP calls from being charged to their account. Preferably, the valueof the Charge Party Station Type (CPST) associated with the callingnumber is modified within the SCP data base to reflect CPP blocking, PPPblocking, or both, by the addition of a one-digit CPST prefix.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of thepresent invention will be more readily appreciated upon reference to thefollowing disclosure when considered in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

[0022]FIG. 1 depicts a prior art advanced intelligent network;

[0023]FIG. 2 depicts a prior art calling party pays advanced intelligentnetwork; and,

[0024] FIGS. 3-9 show flow charts of the call processing of thepreferred embodiment of the improved calling party pays service.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0025] The preferred methods of enhanced Calling Party Pays and PagingParty Pays (CPP/PPP) are intended for use with cellular voice and/ordata systems and paging systems. References herein to “cellular”subscribers and systems are also intended to include paging subscribersand systems. Similarly, references to calling and called partiesgenerally apply to cellular as well as paging calling and calledparties. Where significant differences exist between enhanced CPPcellular and PPP paging systems, they will be specifically mentioned.

[0026] The preferred methods of enhanced calling party pays operate onthe existing digital telephone network infrastructure. However, manydevices, particularly the Service Control Point, have been altered inorder to perform the methods described herein.

[0027] The tandem switch preferably launches a TCAP query to itsdesignated SCP, via its designated STP. The TCAP query is launched basedon a standard 3/6/10 trigger. The 3/6/10 trigger is a mechanism thattests the 3 digits, 6 digits, or 10 digits, to determine if the callednumber meets certain criteria. This triggering mechanism is alsoreferred to as a Specific Digit String (SDS) when the trigger is notspecifically limited to a three, six or ten digit string. The triggermay also be, e.g., seven, eight, or nine digits as well. The preferredcriteria typically consist of the NPA-NXX of the MTSOs connected to thetandem. The trigger may be configured for seven, eight, nine, or tendigits if a particular NXX has been subdivided among a plurality ofMTSOs.

[0028] The TCAP query includes the phone number dialed and the callingnumber, if available. The SCP performs a check to see if the call isdirected to a CPP/PPP number. If it is so directed, the SCP determinesthe cellular provider for the called subscriber device and the optionsassociated with that provider.

[0029] The SCP determines whether it has information records associatedwith the calling party based on the calling party's AIN. If the SCP doeshave detailed information records, the SCP determines whether thecalling party has blocked CPP or PPP or both, and then determines thebillability of the calling party based on the ANI II (CPST). The CPSTcontains both the billable status information and the blocking statusinformation, and is stored in an external database.

[0030] If the number is not billable, or if the SCP does not have arecord of the calling number, or if the calling number is not available,the SCP determines whether the called cellular provider has credit cardbilling or voice mail options enabled. If the provider does have atleast one of these options, the tandem is instructed to play theappropriate message determined by the options selected by the provider.If voice mail and credit card billing is available, the tandem plays amessage prompting the calling party to indicate whether they would liketo be connected to voicemail, or in the alternative, whether the callshould be forwarded to a credit card billing service, or billing serviceprovider, to collect billing information from the calling subscriber.

[0031] If the SCP determines that the calling number is not CPP blockedand is billable from the CPST, the SCP then instructs the calling party,via the tandem, to make a selection. The selection may indicate that thecalling party wishes to use a personal identification number (PIN) tooverride the CPP/PPP billing feature, whereupon the calling party isprompted for the entry of the PIN. If the PIN is valid, the call is notbilled to the calling party and the call is routed. The selection mayindicate that the calling party is willing to accept the charges,whereupon the calling party is billed and the call is routed.

[0032] With reference to FIG. 3, at step 200 the SSP waits for anoff-hook condition from the subscriber and provides dial tone at step210 in response to the off-hook indication. At step 220 the SSP collectsthe dialed digits and checks to see if 10XXX service was dialed in step230. If so, the SSP routes the call to the appropriate inter-exchangecarrier at step 240. If not, the SSP determines at step 250 whether amobile prefix was dialed. The SSP follows normal plain ordinarytelephone service (POTS) routing at step 260 if the prefix was not for amobile or paging device. The originating end office (EO) must recognizeif a mobile or paging exchange was dialed. When a mobile number iscalled, the SSP/EO routes the call to the appropriate tandem or SSP atstep 270. In the preferred embodiment, the MTSOs are connected to otherswitches in a tandem configuration. These tandem switches typically donot service any subscriber loops. In the event that the tandem alsoprovides subscriber loops, they may also be referred to as SSPs.

[0033] The tandem switch launches a TCAP query at step 300 upondetection of a predetermined 3/6/10 trigger condition, or SDS trigger.The trigger criterion is preferably in accordance with TR 1284/1298 andTR 1285/1299. A six-digit trigger is preferably used, triggering all ofthe cellular and paging calls. Alternatively, a trigger of 7, 8, or 9digits may be used to conserve the number of non-CPP calls accessing theSCP. In the case of Type 1 traffic, the trigger may be on a seven oreight digit basis. Since existing prefixes are used, each prefix willneed to be provisioned in the STP to route via Global Title Translationsto the appropriate SCP.

[0034] The TCAP query is referred to as an Info_Analyzed message whichincludes among other parameters the CallingPartyNumber (CPN),RedirectingInformation, RedirectionCalledPartyID, andOriginalCalledPartyID. The SCP will also note the Originating Point Codeto identify the originating office. The query is sent using the SS7protocols to the appropriate SCP via an STP. Initially, at step 310, theSCP screens the called number to determine if the cellular subscribersubscribes to the CPP service. Based on the screening, the SCP willreturn a Continue response to the tandem at step 320 if the cellularnumber is not a CPP subscriber.

[0035] With reference to FIG. 4, the SCP then checks at step 330 to seeif the call is one that is being returned from a Billing ServiceProvider (BSP), thereby indicating that the call has been processed forbilling and should be routed as indicated at step 340. When the BSPreturns the call, it is routed to the tandem based on the called number(the cellular or paging subscriber number). The tandem launches a TCAPquery, as stated above. The SCP determines that call is incoming fromthe BSP by examining a pseudo-code inserted into the CPN field by theBSP. The pseudo-code is an arbitrary predetermined code that allows theSCP to identify that the call is not an originating call, but that thecall is being returned from the BSP after collection of billinginformation. The pseudo-code is not an otherwise valid NPA-NXX-XXXXnumber.

[0036] If it is not a BSP call, then the SCP double checks the CIC atstep 350 to ensure the call is intended for the telephone carrier withwhich the SCP is associated. If not, the call is routed according to theCIC at step 360. If it is intended for the carrier, the SCP thendetermines the time zone and cellular/paging provider at steps 370 and380.

[0037] The SCP also checks the redirection counter at step 390. If thecall has been redirected the redirecting party preferably is billed.Alternatively, the calling party may be billed, as indicated at step400. Thus, if the redirection counter is one the OriginalCalledPartyIDshould be used, if the Redirection counter is greater than one then theRedirectingPartyID should be used. The call is further processedaccording to the steps depicted in FIG. 8.

[0038] If the call has not been redirected, the SCP determines at step410 if the CPN is available, and if not, the SCP determines whether theprovider has a BSP or voice mail (VM) option at step 420. If the optionis available, the SCP processes the call in accordance with the flowchart depicted in FIG. 9, discussed below. If the provider does not havea BSP/VM option, the call is processed according to the flow chartdepicted in FIG. 6, steps 800 and 810, which set the billable status to‘no’ and checks the Play Announcement Option. If, however, the CPN isavailable, the SCP checks at step 430 to see if the CPN is in its table.An entry of 2 in the table indicates that the calling party is not acustomer of the system associated with the SCP, in which case the ANI IIis set to 49 at step 450, and the call is processed in accordance withsteps depicted in FIG. 6.

[0039] An entry of 1 in the table at step 440 indicates the CPN is acustomer of the system associated with the SCP, so the SCP queries itsexternal database as shown in step 460 of FIG. 5. At step 470, if theexternal database (EDB) does not have an ANI II entry, the SCP checks atstep 480 as to whether the provider has a BSP/VM option. If the providerdoes have this option, the SCP processes the call as shown in FIG. 9. Ifsuch option exists, the SCP sets the ANI II to 49, and jumps to step590. Steps 500-540 check to see whether the calling party has elected toblock CPP/PPP calls from their number. The ANI II (or CPST) values aretypically two digit numbers and therefore less than or equal to 99. TheANI IIs stored in the EDB are modified by adding a preceding digit inthe event a calling party has indicated they wish to block the CPP/PPPservices. A prefix of ‘1’ indicates the calling party wishes to blockcellular calling party pays, a prefix of ‘3’ indicates blocking ofpaging party pays is desired, and a prefix of ‘2’ indicates that bothshould be blocked. As shown, step 510 checks the CPN ANI II for a prefixof ‘1’ or ‘2’, which is the test for a call made to a cellular providerNPA-NXX.

[0040] If at step 550 the SCP determines that the ANI II is notbillable, or if the ANI II was unavailable as determined in step 430,the SCP checks to see if the provider has a BSP/VM option at step 560.If so, the call is processed as depicted in FIG. 9. If not, the call ismarked as non-billable at step 570. The SCP then determines at step 580if the provider nevertheless wishes to play an announcement regardingCPP/PPP. This is referred to herein as Play Announcement Option 2. Thecall is then processed according to FIG. 6. Otherwise, the call isprocessed as shown in FIG. 8, which routes the call without playing anyannouncements.

[0041] If the ANI II indicates the call's CPN is billable, billing isset to yes in step 590, and at step 600 the SCP determines whether thePlay Announcement Option 1 is selected. Option 1 at step 600 ispreferably always selected, otherwise, a calling party would be billedwithout any notification. Standard worded announcements for billableparties are pre-loaded in targeted tandem offices. The wording for theseannouncements is preferably:

[0042] Cellular Providers:

[0043] “Welcome to (provider's name). At the request of the cellularphone customer you are calling, charges of XX cents per minute tocomplete this call will be added to your phone bill. To continue, pressone now. To avoid charges, hang up now. If you are calling from a rotaryphone, please hold. Your call will be completed shortly. Normal usagerates apply.”

[0044] Paging Providers:

[0045] “Welcome to (provider's name). At the request of the customer youare calling, a charge of XX cents will be made to your phone bill. Tocomplete this page, press one now.”

[0046] The wording may vary slightly based on customer preference andother considerations. Separate announcements are preferably for peak andoff peak periods. Customized announcements are recorded, with up to twoannouncements per cellular provider, one peak announcement, one non-peakannouncement and a generic free day announcement. There are preferablythree generic price points for the BSP option and consequently, theprovider can choose from one of these three announcements for thisoption. Voicemail and VIP PIN options have generic announcements.

[0047] The SCP determines which announcement to play at steps 610, 620and 630. There are preferably up to three announcements per cellularprovider, one for peak hours; one for off-peak hours, and one for a freeperiod. Based on the announcement option selected, the SCP will send aSend_to_Resource TCAP message directing the tandem/SSP to play theappropriate announcement and to collect digits. The announcementinforming the calling party that they will be billed for the call ifthey continue requires caller interaction: the entering of a ‘1’. TheSend_to_Resource message contains at least the following parameters:ResourceType, AnswerIndicator, and StrParameterBlock. TheStrParameterBlock includes an announcement ID indicating the appropriateannouncement as follows: Announcement ID Announcement Verbiage 97 Pleaseenter digits now 98 That entry is not valid 99 The person you arecalling subscribes to Calling Party Pays service. To complete this callfor a charge of XX cents per minute on your telephone or bank creditcard, press one. To avoid charges, hang up now. 100 The person you arecalling subscribes to Calling Party Pays service which cannot be used atthe phone you are calling from. To Leave a message for this person,press three and record your message at the tone. 101 The person you arecalling subscribes to Calling Party Pays service. To complete this callfor a charge of XX cents per minute on your4elephone or bank creditcard, press one. To leave a message for this person, at no charge, pressthree and record your message at the tone. 102 That choice is notavailable. 103 To complete this call for a charge of XX cents per minuteon your telephone or bank credit card, press one. To avoid charges, hangup now. 104 To leave a message for this person, press three and recordyour message at the tone. 105 To complete this call for a charge of XXcents per minute on your telephone or bank credit card, press one. Toleave a message for this person, at no charge, press three and recordyour message at the tone. 106 The person your are calling subscribes toCalling Party Pays service. Calling Party Pays has been blocked by theowner of the phone number you are calling from.

[0048] When the calling party enters a ‘1’ or the timer expires, the SSPsends a Resource_Clear message to the SCP containing the parametersClearCause and CollectedDigits. If the Resource_Clear message indicatesthat the announcement is unavailable, as shown in 870, then the recordis marked as non-billable in step 880.

[0049] If the provider does not offer a PIN/billing override option asdetermined at step 640, the SCP determines if the customer entered asingle digit at step 650, and if so, the call is processed as shown inFIG. 7. If the caller is using a rotary phone the call is processed viasteps 660, 870, 890, and then in accordance with the steps shown in FIG.8. The customer must hang up if they do not wish to be billed for thecall. The call will then be disconnected as shown in step 670. If thecaller does not enter a single digit, the process follows steps 660,870, 890, and 900, resulting in an error condition. The result istermination of the call.

[0050] If the provider offers a PIN option, the SCP checks at step 680to see if the caller has entered a ‘2’, even though the announcementpreferably does not indicate this as a valid entry. If a ‘2’ wasentered, a tone is played at step 690, and the PIN entry is validated asshown in steps 700 and 710. If valid, the call is processed as shown insteps 720, 730, and then as shown in FIG. 8. In steps 780 and 790, anannouncement giving the caller an additional attempt to enter the PIN isplayed in the event a customer enters an invalid PIN (or other than fourdigits—see step 700). This announcement is generic and is shared by allcellular providers. If the customer does not enter a valid PIN thesecond time the call is terminated as shown in steps 750 and 760.

[0051] As shown in FIG. 7, if a digit other than ‘1’ is received (step820), the SCP will respond with another Send_to_Resource message andplay a recording (step 830) giving the caller another chance to enter a‘1’. This announcement is generic and is shared by all cellularproviders. If the customer does not enter a digit, step 840 directs theprocess to step 850, which disconnects the call. If the Resource_Clearmessage doesn't contain a ‘1’ the second time, step 860 directs theprocess to terminate the call at step 850. If the customer does enter a‘1’, the call is passed to FIG. 8.

[0052] The ‘play announcement’ options available to the customer allowthe customer to select whether the announcement is played all of thetime or not played if the call is non-billable. Option 1 or 2 or bothmay be selected. Option 1 indicates a message will be played if the CPNis available and the CPST is billable. As stated above, it is preferablyalways selected. Option 2 indicates a message will be played even thoughthe CPST is non-billable, regardless of whether the CPN is available.

[0053] With reference to FIG. 8, the SCP determines if the NPA screeningfeature is on. This feature allows certain NPAs to be designated asnonbillable. Steps 910, 920 and 930 perform this function. After the NPAscreening is performed, the SCP determines in step 940 the appropriatetrunk over which to route the call. This determination is made based onthe billing status and the BSP/VM status, in view of the preferencesselected by the service provider. At step 950, the SCP sends anAnalyze_Route TCAP response to the tandem/SSP. The Analyze_Route messagecontains at least the following parameters: CallingPartyID, PrimaryTrunk Group, AMALineNumber and AMAslpID. The route index will bepopulated on a table based on the originating point code of the call.The tandem then creates the appropriate billing record and routes thecall as shown in steps 960 and 970.

[0054] With reference to FIG. 9, the SCP determines at step 980 whichBSP/VM option is appropriate, and directs the tandem/SSP to play theannouncement at step 990. The TCAP Send_to_Resource message and responseare also used for BSP, VM or BSP/VM options, as well as the PIN option.The above-mentioned Send_to_Resource and Resource_Clear parameters areused in each case. The announcement wording for CPP with BSP option ispreferably:

[0055] “The Party you have called has elected Calling Party Paysservice. The charges for this call cannot be billed to the number fromwhich you are calling. If you wish to bill this to a credit card, press‘1’, to leave a voicemail for this customer press ‘3’.”

[0056] For providers only having one of the options, the preferredannouncements are as follows: for BSP option only:

[0057] “The Party you have called has elected Calling Party Paysservice. The charges for this call cannot be billed to the number fromwhich you are calling. If you wish to bill this to a credit card, press‘1’.”

[0058] For Voicemail Option Only:

[0059] “The Party you have called has elected Calling Party Paysservice. The charges for this call cannot be billed to the number fromwhich you are calling, to leave a voicemail for this customer press‘3’.”

[0060] If the caller has hung up, the call is disconnected as indicatedin steps 1000 and 1010. Otherwise, the call is processed according tosteps 1020, 1030 and 1040 if the caller has indicated a voice mailoption, and the call is processed as described above with reference toFIG. 8. The call is processed according to steps 1020, 1050, 1060, and1070 for routing in accordance with FIG. 8. The ANI II is set to ‘53’ sothat when the AMA record is generated at step 960, it will be clear thatthe call had been routed to the BSP. Recall that step 330 determines ifthe call is from a BSP, and if so, the call is simply routed, and no AMArecord is generated at that time. Similarly, calls sent to voicemailshould be coded as nonbillable, and the ANI II is set to ‘54’ as shownin step 1030.

[0061] If the caller enters a digit other than 1 or 3, the entry ischecked to see if it is a 2 at step 1080, and if so, is routed to thePIN processing section at step 680. If the entry is not a 2, the calleris given a second chance by replaying the message at step 990 afterincrementing the try counter at step 1100. If the caller has already hada second chance, the call is processed via steps 1090, 1110, and isdisconnected at step 1120.

[0062] Calls to the Billing Service Provider (BSP) will be sent withFeature Group C with the following format KP+I+10 digits (callednumber)+ST. The BSP will return the following over Feature Group Dtrunk: KP+II+ANI+ST; KP+10 digits+ST.

[0063] A preferred embodiment of the present invention has beendescribed herein. It is to be understood, of course, that changes andmodifications may be made in the embodiment without departing from thetrue scope of the present invention, as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for processing a calling party pays callinitiated by a first subscriber device to a second subscriber device,the system comprising: a processor; and a switch operative to transmit,to the processor, an automatic number identifier (ANI) of the firstsubscriber device comprising a calling number and a called number;wherein the processor is operative to determine that a billing status ofthe first subscriber device is nonbillable based on a charge partystation type (CPST) of the first subscriber device and, in response tothat determination, perform at least one of the following: route thecall to a voice mail provider or route the call to a billing serviceprovider.
 2. The system of claim 1 further comprising a databasecomprising a field comprising the CPST of the first subscriber device,and wherein the processor is further operative to determine that thebilling status of the first subscriber device is nonbillable byexamining the field in the database.
 3. The system of claim 1, whereinthe processor is further operative to determine that billing preferencesof the second subscriber device are calling party pays.
 4. The system ofclaim 3 further comprising a database comprising a field comprising thebilling preferences of the second subscriber device, and wherein theprocessor determines that the billing preferences of the secondsubscriber device are calling party pays by examining the field in thedatabase.
 5. The system claim 1, wherein the processor comprises aservice control point.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the switchcomprises a tandem switch.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the switchis operative to transmit the ANI of the first subscriber device to theprocessor using a TCAP component of a signaling system 7 protocol. 8.The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is operative to route thecall to a voice mail provider, and wherein the switch is furtheroperative to play a message to the first subscriber device indicatingthat voice mail is an option.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein theprocessor is operative to route the call to a voice mail provider, andwherein the switch is further operative to play a message to the firstsubscriber device indicating that no additional charges are associatedwith the voice mail option.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein theprocessor is operative to both route the call to the voice mail providerand to route the call to the billing service provider, and wherein theswitch is further operative to prompt the first subscriber device tochoose whether the processor should route the call to the voice mailprovider or route the call to the billing service provider.
 11. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the first subscriber device is associatedwith a calling party, and wherein the processor is further operative toroute the call to the second subscriber device without chargingadditional fees to the calling party in response to receiving a callingparty pays override code from the calling party.
 12. A method ofprocessing a call initiated by a first subscriber device to a secondsubscriber device, the method comprising: receiving an automatic numberidentifier (ANI) of the first subscriber device comprising a callingnumber and a called number; determining a billing status of the firstsubscriber device based on a charge party station type (CPST) of thefirst subscriber device; determining billing preferences of the secondsubscriber device in response to the received called number, the billingpreferences being calling party pays; receiving and verifying a callingparty pays override code from a calling party associated with the firstsubscriber device; and in response to receiving and verifying thecalling party pays override code, routing the call to the secondsubscriber device without charging additional fees to the calling party,even if the billing status is determined to be billable.
 13. The methodof claim 12, wherein the second subscriber device is associated with acalled subscriber, and wherein the method further comprises creating abilling record indicating the call is to be billed to the calledsubscriber.
 14. The method of claim 12 further comprising playing amessage indicating a PIN should be entered.
 15. The method of claim 12,wherein a service control point determines the billing status and thebilling preferences.
 16. The method of claim 12, wherein the ANI isreceived via a TCAP component of a signaling system 7 protocol.
 17. Amethod of processing a call initiated by a first subscriber device to asecond subscriber device, the method comprising: receiving an automaticnumber identifier (ANI) of the first subscriber device comprising acalling number and a called number; determining a billing status of thefirst subscriber device based on a charge party station type (CPST) ofthe first subscriber device; determining billing preferences of thesecond subscriber device in response to the received called number, thebilling preferences being calling party pays; and terminating the callif the CPST indicates that calling party pays billing is blocked fromthe calling number.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein terminating thecall further comprises: playing a message indicating that calling partypays is blocked; and disconnecting the call.
 19. The method of claim 17,wherein a service control point determines the billing status and thebilling preferences.
 20. The method of claim 17, wherein the ANI isreceived via a TCAP component of a signaling system 7 protocol.